Doctor Visit

Today Will had his 2 week doctor visit. Everything looked great. He weighed 8lbs 10 oz. He weighed 7lbs. 13 oz when he was born and only 7lbs. 5 oz when we brought him home so he is doing great! He is eating like a little pig! This morning I was alone in getting myself and Will ready to go by a certain time. John was meeting us at the doctor's office. We pulled it off but it was a little stressful. And of course it has to be freezing and raining on the day that I have to get him out and loaded in the car. I took these pictures just before we left. I bundled him up in his precious bear coat...I don't think he liked it very much!

2 Weeks Old Today!!

Will is 2 weeks old today. It feels like he has been with us so much longer. I guess because that first week dragged by, spent mostly in the hospital. And since it is so cold and he is so little, we don't get out very much. We have had a great time getting to know each other since being home! John and I weren't sure we wanted to keep him after our first night (NO ONE (I won't name names but my friends who have young children-you know how you are!) prepared us for how horrific the first night home could be. Both John and I literally spent the majority of the night in the nursery taking turns trying to soothe him. I don't think he closed his eyes from 10 pm to 3:30 am). Since then, he has only woken up once every night to eat and then after being rocked about 10 minutes goes straight back to sleep. We did not do the whole basinette in our room...it has proved to work very well for us. We have one in our den and he naps in there. We only put him in his crib at night and it is like he knows that it is time to sleep for more than 2 hours when he is in there. He is a precious angel and fits quite well into our family...so we decided we would keep him :) The pictures are courtesy of my friend Ashley. She took on Saturday while we were in Auburn. They were too cute not to share. They are also on her blog, so if you read hers you just get to see them twice! I had to put them on mine so my other friends and family could see!

So far the little man likes...
to eat, to ride in the car, to rock, his swing, and to sleep

He dislikes...
his carseat (until the car is in motion), having his diaper changed, having to wait on food, his sponge bath

Will's First Road Trip

On Saturday, we bravely ventured to Auburn for Shealy's baby shower. I did not make the decision to go until Friday. I just couldn't miss it! Will was such a trooper. He did not make a peep in the car the whole ride there or on the way back. When we arrived, he woke up just enough to eat and then went back to sleep. The shower was at Shealy's sister's house and she has 2 boys. So I left him in Luke's room which was complete with swing. He slept in the swing for the ENTIRE shower. I kept checking on him and he was out! Once the shower was over we woke him up so that all of my bible study and Drake buddies could meet him. There are few people that I would drive 2 hours less than 2 weeks after my child was born, but Shealy is most certainly one of them and I am SO glad we went!! It was so fun and I would have hated to miss out. The picture above cracks me up. On our way out of Auburn, John said he could not bring his son to the Plains without introducing him to the stadium. He asked if we could drop by and let him take a picture with him. I of course was not going to tell him no and I think it is precious. Look how proud John is!! He wanted to get him out of the car seat but since he was sound asleep I convinced him not to! I cannot imagine what this year's football season is going to be like watching John with Will. I am sure there will be many funny blog posts to come once Fall is here!

Me and Shealy with Will (how fun will it be for him to say that he attended his future wife's baby shower!!!) :)

Grandma Freeman with Will (my Auburn mom)

My Favorite Part of the Day

My most favorite part of the day has become the time after dinner when John and I just snuggle with Will on the couch. He is usually the most alert during this time and doesn't mind John and I rubbing all over him and getting in his face :) He is usually very content during this time unless he has a dirty diaper. Here are a few pictures from last night. The feet picture has to be my favorite!!

Meeting Cousins and First "Bath"

Will's Uncle Brandon and Aunt Tessa brought Dylan (7) and Sutherlan (3) to come and meet Will on Sunday. Dylan and Sutherlan were so cute, calling him Baby Cousin Will and wanting to hold him constantly. They LOVE him and I know he will love them too before long!


On Sunday night we decided it was time to attempt our first "bath" with Will. We got all set up on the bathroom counter to give him a sponge bath. He was okay until he was wet :) Bless his heart, I know he was cold! Here are just a few of my favorites!

Sweet Baby Will!

We were so excited to come home on Friday!! I ended up having to have a C-Section on Tuesday. Thank you to Shealy for posting the news of the arrival of Will! I did not have access to a computer. I feel great and am so thankful that my recovery is seeming to go perfect. Will and John are also doing great. My favorite thing is watching John with Will. It is absolutely adorable. Bentley seems to be adjusting well. He even gave Will a kiss on the back of the head when we got him out of his car seat! Here are some pictures. We are in love with our little guy!!

Meet Will

I am very excited to introduce William Michael Vakakes. Will arrived today weighing 7 lbs, 13ozs and is 21.5 inches long. Brooke said he has dark brown hair like his daddy. Mama, Daddy, and Baby are all doing great! Congrats, Brooke and John! Will is absolutely adorable!

-Shealy (the proud, self-proclaimed aunt)

The Day Before The BIG Day!

Here is Bentley in his new carseat from Kiki and Pops. It is right beside Will's carseat. My backseat looks pretty different these days! :)

This is it! Today we head to the hospital at 4 to check in. Kind of weird to think we will leave with a baby! Surprisingly, I slept well last night. John and I woke up this morning and just stayed in bed a while. Knowing this would be the last morning that we were able to sleep in and not have to worry about anyone else was a crazy thought! We are trying to enjoy every minute until tomorrow. We are both off work today and don't really have big plans. Bentley is very anxious. He has known something is up but now with all of our stuff crowding the doorway to be loaded into my car, he really knows something isn't quite right! Last night was great. We had a yummy meal at my parents house and then headed home to watch Jack Bauer. 24 has become our favorite show and we have waited 2 years for this new season. Another 2 hour episode comes on tonight so we are hoping we can watch it at the hospital with few interuptions! Please pray for all of us today and tomorrow. We are beyond excited and just ready to meet our little guy!

The Light At The End of The Tunnel

It is true...we can finally see the light. After 38 weeks and 5 days we have confirmation that the end is near. I had my doctor appointment today and yet again I was NOT dilated...at all. I didn't freak out, just wondered what in the world was wrong with me. Dr. R told me it was totally normal, especially since this is my first. At any rate, he went to make a phone call and when he came back told us to be in Labor and Delivery at 4pm on Monday, that is of course if I have not gone into labor by then. They are going to admit me at 4 and do some tricks prior to inducing me on Tuesday morning to hopefully help me to start dilating. On Tuesday morning, they hope I will be 3cm and they will start the potosin drip and he will arrive sometime on Tuesday...one way or the other. We are beyond excited. I was very anxious and nervous at the prospect of being induced but now we are just so glad we finally have a date and this way I can make sure I am showered and my legs are shaved before bringing our sweet little boy into the world (these were 2 of my biggest fears) :) Please keep us in your prayers on Monday and Tuesday!! Here is one final belly shot. I really didn't think I would post anymore pictures, but this one isn't too bad. It definitely shows that I am about to pop. Dr. R said he was guessing that he probably weighed about 7.5 pounds right now. Very exciting!!

My New Ride!!!

Check It Out!!! Feast your eyes upon my very own bright red Dodge Grand Caravan. Jealous?? Before you start freaking out that we have totally gone into parent mode and bought ourselves a mini-van, this is a rental. About a month ago, a lady backed into me in the CVS parking lot. My car was PARKED and she came out of her space and didn't turn, just pulled straight back. So we got it in the shop yesterday to be fixed so that hopefully that will be taken care of before Will arrives. It is supposed to be done on Thursday. So this is my ride for the next few days. It feels so different driving something so large! The guy started laughing when I went in to pick up the rental car because he had rented me the mini-van before knowing I was pregnant. His words were, "You'll be a soccer mom before you know it!" I assured him that I was fine just renting a car (apparently they had to give me an SUV/van since my car that is being repaired is an SUV. He told me the only car they had was a Prius and he thought that would be too small for me. Wow.

Easy as Pie

I wanted to post this recipe for a pie I made for New Years Day. They were a big hit and I always forget about this pie when thinking of a dessert. It is super easy and amazes me that something with only 3 ingredients can taste so yummy! My mom got this recipe from another relative and we always enjoy it!
Caramel Pie
Ingredients:
1 14oz can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk 1 small container of cool whip
1 graham cracker crust
optional: toppings such as chopped pecans, heath bar, etc

Directions:
-Take the label off of the can of sweetened condensed milk. Do not open it! Place it in a boiler with water covering it and boil it for 3 hours. You have to check every 30 minutes or so to add water so that it always covers the top. It evaporates quickly.
-After boiling for 3 hours, remove the can from the boiler and let cool for 20 minutes (make sure you do this step. The first time I made this by myself was when we lived in green wall hell in Auburn and John swears I almost lost an eye. I opened the can right after it was done boiling and it shot caramel everywhere!! We would find it over the next few months in the most random places and it did come incredibly close to my eye)
-After 20 minutes, open with a can opener and stir just a bit with a spoon. It will be clumpy. Pour into graham cracker crust. Cover with a topping if you like (heath bar is yummy). Then cover with the cool whip. You could cover with cool whip and then add your topping-it is all preference.
-Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Store in the refrigerator.

That is all you do! Isn't that crazy that sweetened condensed milk turns to caramel when you boil it! Just wanted to share in case you needed a new/simple recipe for a dessert.

Happy 2009!!

We have had the best few days. I love being off work and it makes it even better when John is off work too! He has been working in the bonus room a lot (I will post pictures of that eventually) but we have also had a lot of down time on the couch as well! Last night we were at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse by 6 to try and beat the crowds (we sound like such senior citizens, I know). We should have known on New Years Eve there was probably a crowd everywhere by 5. We decided to forego the "cook in front of you" dining experience, and just grab a booth by ourselves in the sushi bar. This was quite nice seeing as we didn't have to wait at all for a table, weren't stuck around a table of strangers, and John was pleased that the LSU/GA Tech game was on right above our table. We were finished with dinner by 7:15 and John had a fantastic idea to go and get some "Hot and Ready" doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. I can't tell you how long it has been since I have had a Krispy Kreme doughnut, must less the warm, soft ones that melt in your mouth. We each ate 2 in the car on the ride home! Once home, we enjoyed our sparkling beverage of Cranberry Ginger Ale and rang in the new year New York style. I can't tell you the last time we actually saw our actual central time new year. But last night I was making these caramel pies for our festivities today so we actually napped from 11 until almost midnight. I got up to finish the pies and we ended up seeing Bham New Years after all. Someone was shooting fireworks over by us and Bentley was not very happy! To a lot of people, I am sure our New Years Eve sounds super lame, but we wouldn't have had it any other way.